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Roy Keane will be great asset to Aston Villa, says Paul Lambert

Brendan McLoughlin

July 2 2014, 1:01am, The Times

Benteke, left, is recovering well from his Achilles injury and could travel with VillaAlan Walter / The Times

What is poised to be Aston Villa’s most intriguing — and high profile — arrival this summer was confirmed yesterday when Roy Keane became assistant to Paul Lambert, who has backed the Irishman to have a positive effect on the team, despite a fearsome reputation.

Keane, 42, will combine the Villa role with being No 2 to Martin O’Neill with the Ireland team. He withdrew from his role as a World Cup pundit for ITV to accept Villa’s invitation. He will be introduced at a press conference, with Lambert, at lunchtime today.

Such media appearances are, though, expected to be rare with the former Manchester United player happy to step into the shadows. “I am relishing the prospect of linking up with Paul and combining…